Filed Under: iAwake Weekly Call, Life Optimization, Meaning of Life, Meditation Technology, Practice of Meditation, Profound Meditation Program, Spiritual Development, Waking Up Tagged With: Benefits of Brainwave Entrainment Meditation, Changing Our Brains, Conscious Evolution, Life Optimization, Meditation Technology, practice of meditation, Spiritual Development, spiritual practice, Waking Up
Heart rate variability: A new study suggests that among those with low HRV (heart-rate variability), brainwave entrainment can increase HRV. Researchers studied individuals ages 20 to 70 and administered alpha brain stimulation. The alpha wave stimulation resulted in greater heart-rate variability. Since a low HRV is associated with early mortality and poor psychological and physical health, efforts made to increase it should be regarded as beneficial.
The most common way to use a brainwave entrainment is for a short-term benefit, to help guide your brain into a particular mental state at the time you need it. In a similar way to how you might take a sleeping pill before bed to help you get to sleep, or maybe drink some coffee or an energy drink to help wake you up and give you a boost of energy.
According to a recent study published in the British journal Heart, slow or meditative music is a proven stress buster, so set your dial to a soothing station during your commute. And, if you're stuck in a traffic jam, sneak in this quick exercise: Grab your steering wheel and clench the muscles in your fingers, arms, shoulders and back. Do this until your muscles begin to tremble (about 45 seconds), then release. You'll produce a wave of relief in your upper neck and arms all the way down to your fingers. Just make sure your foot is on the brake when you let go of the wheel! (FYI: pink noise is the newest tool for reducing stress.)

Writer. Advocate. Survivor. Vanna is a contributor for The Mighty, Recovery Warriors, Beating Eating Disorders, YahooHealth, MSN, Narratives of Hope, and Lost Got Found. Vanna is also a Southern Smash Ambassador. Twenty years of personal experience and a degree in developmental psychology help Vanna use her writing and advocacy to reach others struggling with mental illness.

It is not accurate to call religious fundamentalism a disease, because that term refers to a pathology that physically attacks the biology of a system. But fundamentalist ideologies can be thought of as mental parasites. A parasite does not usually kill the host it inhabits, as it is critically dependent on it for survival. Instead, it feeds off it and changes its behavior in ways that benefit its own existence. By understanding how fundamentalist ideologies function and are represented in the brain using this analogy, we can begin to understand how to inoculate against them, and potentially, how to rehabilitate someone who has undergone ideological brainwashing — in other words, a reduction in one’s ability to think critically or independently.

Binaural beats are acoustically generated frequencies that match the frequency bands of brain waves and are therefore considered a means to inducing neurophysiological relaxation. There is, however, large dispute on the scientific quality and validity of extant research on binaural beats. Thus, the effect of a binaural 10Hz (Alpha) stimulation on subjective and physiological parameters ... [Show full abstract]Read more

Discovered by Austrian Psychiatrist Hans Berger in 1908, Alpha brainwaves cycle 8 to 13 times per second, a good bit slower than beta brainwaves. While considered a part of a group of brainwaves, the Alpha brainwave has one distinct trait that makes it stand out from its siblings – it appears and disappears while going through our brain. Sometimes alpha waves are present, sometimes they are not. The disappearance of the Alpha brainwave usually occurs when someone is asleep or experiences heightened emotions such as fear or anger. This brainwave only appears whenever a person is awake and relaxed, a one-of-a-kind distinction among other types of brainwaves.
We also know that in the United States, Christian fundamentalism is linked to science denial. Since science is nothing more than a method of determining truth using empirical measurement and hypothesis testing, denial of science equates to the denial of objective truth and tangible evidence. In other words, the denial of reality. Not only does fundamentalism promote delusional thinking, it also discourages followers from exposing themselves to any different ideas, which acts to protect the delusions that are essential to the ideology.
Hi. This article contains a lot of information about brainwave entertainment. Thanks. I have a question. I downloaded an Android app that plays isochronic tones. I like to use an Isochronic tone at 2.5Hz that is in Delta range and is supposed to help me get a deep and dreamless sleep. I use it without headphones and just keep the smartphone next to my pillow. But I do not know if I should keep the tone playing all the time while I sleep or put it on timer to shut off after some specified time. A custom timer is possible with the app. Can you please guide me.

Hello Jason, this is an unusually thoughtful discussion. Thank you for all your expertise and your kind manner of presenting and moderating it. I’m wondering if you have any experience with this: ever since I’ve been exposed to theta wave music, without headphones, I have found it irritating. And this is in spite of the fact that when I was first handed a CD by someone I knew well and trusted he was so confident I’d love it It didn’t occur to either of us that I might not. This happened again recently, which is about 10 years later, when I heard it playing overhead at an acupuncture clinic. I felt restless and even irritated, unable to zone out, which is unusual for me, during the treatment. I realized that the quality of my irritation was similar to what I’d felt listening to that CD a decade ago.So I asked if it was theta wave music and she said yes. The acupuncturist said that some people, but a vast minority, really dislike the music. She said that the few people who dislike it are not simply neutral, but actively dislike it. And she also said, but most people like it a lot. I’m just wondering what kind of factors might be present that would make a person feel so irritated by this music?

To get a full answer you should really get in touch with the owner of the app, because it does really depend on how their track is constructed and how they intend it to work. I have one 50-minute sleep track which takes you down into delta (http://www.mindamend.com/shop/sleeping-and-dreaming/sleep-induction-isochronic-tones/) and that is designed to just get you to sleep, so you just let play until the end. If you played that track on repeat it might make you jump and wake you up, as the track begins at a higher frequency. I have another 8-hour sleep track which is meant to be played all throughout the night (http://www.mindamend.com/shop/sleeping-and-dreaming/deep-sleep-8-hour-sleep-cycle/). So it does depend on the individual track you are using.
According to a recent study published in the British journal Heart, slow or meditative music is a proven stress buster, so set your dial to a soothing station during your commute. And, if you're stuck in a traffic jam, sneak in this quick exercise: Grab your steering wheel and clench the muscles in your fingers, arms, shoulders and back. Do this until your muscles begin to tremble (about 45 seconds), then release. You'll produce a wave of relief in your upper neck and arms all the way down to your fingers. Just make sure your foot is on the brake when you let go of the wheel! (FYI: pink noise is the newest tool for reducing stress.)
When you're having a hell of a day—good or bad—checking out for 10-15 minutes is revitalizing. Find a place where you can be alone (and definitely ditch the cell phone)—the attic, the bathroom, a quiet cafe, a big oak tree—and wipe the slate clean for a few minutes. Do whatever it is that relaxes you: Meditate, read a novel, sing or sip tea. It's crucial to take just a few minutes everyday to de-stress. It's not how much time you allot, but being consistent that's important.
Basically, one frequency of sound plays through one speaker/headphone and a different sound frequency plays in the other speaker/headphone. With these two different frequencies playing in each ear separately, but at the same time, your brain automatically tries to make up the difference in this frequency range and therefore is gently brought into a new, desired brainwave state as described above. An example of this effect would be a 100Hz frequency playing in your left ear and a 105Hz frequency playing in your right ear. Your brain, over several minutes, distinguishes the slight difference in frequencies and automatically adjusts its brainwave state to match this difference – being 5Hz in this example and therefore putting your brainwave into a Theta state. Pretty cool huh?!
Memory: There is not sufficient evidence to suggest that brainwave entrainment improves memory. However since cognitive function improves as a result of entrainment, short and/or long term memory may be improved by stimulation with certain frequencies. While lower frequencies may be beneficial for recalling certain memories, conscious processing of the memories generally requires sufficient beta.
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This session shifts from the 14Hz sensormotor rhythm through beta to 40Hz gamma, and repeats the pattern over and over, constantly “revving up”the mind with each repetition. The process is stabilized with a 10Hz background alpha beat, allowing the brain a place to relax instantly, whenever a let up allows. Use this session any time, and for as long as required to get the job done. Take in a High Energy Espresso on long-hauls for a welcome lift. Works without headphones, but the best benefits can be found with them. The session finishes at a fast, revving 18Hz beta. For use mainly with eyes open, engaged in activity - with benefit to be gained from periodically closing your eyes briefly and relaxing.